best power tools for noise purposes?

[dumphump424]

What are some power tools that you guys have used in noisemaking? Are there certain tools that you prefer to use, or certain ones that have given you the best results? Whether it be drills, saws, grinders, etc etc.

[kettu]

many tools have a switch for controlling the rpm´s. it could be useful for layering sounds. more variety.

thing that caught my eye recently was tiny air compressor. what fun, you can do a lot with compressed air. machine was tiny as hell.
might be too dear for a noiser.

[Atrophist]

I haven’t tried power tools, but attaching piezo mics to dishwasher and a washing machine has yielded decent results. A rotating fan as well. An electric hair trimmer, not so much.

I agree that the possibility of altering the speed/rpm would seem important.

[HateSermon]

I haven’t tried power tools, but attaching piezo mics to dishwasher and a washing machine has yielded decent results. A rotating fan as well. An electric hair trimmer, not so much.

I agree that the possibility of altering the speed/rpm would seem important.

I got a new dryer last year but definitely recorded a bunch of samples before getting rid of the old one. Mostly for percussion.

I’ve also had good results with small circular saws on metal… cutting chains and whatnot. Even just banging around cheap aluminum siding or ladders. I think it all comes down to how you record it.

[Leewar]

Bench grinders are very useable.

Attach a Piezo mic to whatever material you use and you can alter the sound by how you hold or how hard you press the material into the grinding wheel.

[dumphump424]

Bench grinders are very useable.

Attach a Piezo mic to whatever material you use and you can alter the sound by how you hold or how hard you press the material into the grinding wheel.

Thats exactly what i was thinking! i got a real cheap power drill now, but I'm definitely gonna try to get an angle grinder, or perhaps when i get the money a bench grinder like you said. Do you think just using a simple angle grinder would yield good results with a contact mic attached?

[Leewar]

Bench grinders are very useable.

Attach a Piezo mic to whatever material you use and you can alter the sound by how you hold or how hard you press the material into the grinding wheel.

Thats exactly what i was thinking! i got a real cheap power drill now, but I'm definitely gonna try to get an angle grinder, or perhaps when i get the money a bench grinder like you said. Do you think just using a simple angle grinder would yield good results with a contact mic attached?

Ive found attaching the mic to the material works better. The good thing about a bench grinder is you can fix it down and use one hand to hold whatever your're grinding and the other is free for manipulating pedals.

[haldorsen]

Bench grinders are very useable.

Attach a Piezo mic to whatever material you use and you can alter the sound by how you hold or how hard you press the material into the grinding wheel.

Thats exactly what i was thinking! i got a real cheap power drill now, but I'm definitely gonna try to get an angle grinder, or perhaps when i get the money a bench grinder like you said. Do you think just using a simple angle grinder would yield good results with a contact mic attached?

Ive found attaching the mic to the material works better. The good thing about a bench grinder is you can fix it down and use one hand to hold whatever your're grinding and the other is free for manipulating pedals.

I second this. Power tools have a motor hum so if you mic up the tool then you mostly get the hum of the tool itself. Also think of how you want to "play" whatever object you're using the tool on and get creative with it. I work in a wood shop and most of the time (if you're using it right) a tool will make pretty much the same sound every time you use it which makes it less exciting than one would hope. And also that sound will probably have a pitch and/or rhythm to it due to the motor spinning at its operating speed. So maybe consider how you can use that to your advantage, like attaching wires to a drill bit and spinning that against amplified sheet metal or something like that. I think a grinder could potentially be one of the better options sound wise, but be very careful and mind the direction of the wheel spinning

[MmeDesgranges]

An electric hair trimmer.

hair trimmer near guitar pickups + high gain/other effects can work. Take the razor part off and stick your thumb/coins/cardboard against the moving parts for different pitches/tones.

Also try rasping the bare motor directly against a (cheap) microphone.

[Cementimental]

got some good noises in the early days of Cementimental by plugging a pair of old headphones into a mic input and using them as a pickup for power drill, and eventually drilling them to destruction :)

[host body]

any power tool or sound source if good for noise

[dust]

electric toothbrush

[Bleak Existence]

make a mess